[Artesunate inhibited human tongue squamous cell carcinoma CAL27 cells in vitro via STAT3 signaling pathway].

Purpose: To investigate the anticancer effect of artesunate(ART) on human tongue squamous cell carcinoma (CAL27) cells and its possible mechanism.

Methods: CAL27 cells was pretreated with different doses of ART. Then, CCK-8 and colony forming methods were used for cell viability analysis, cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry, and cell migration and invasion capacity were determined by scratch test and Transwell chamber method. In addition, the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNA was measured by qPCR, and Western blot was used to detect the expression of MMP-9 and VEGF and activation of STAT3 signal in CAL27 cells treated with ART at various concentrations. SPSS 19.0 software package was used for statistical analysis of the data.

Results: Artesunate significantly inhibited proliferation(P＜0.01), invasion(P＜0.01)and migration(P＜0.01) of CAL27 cells，and induced apoptosis of CAL27 cells (P＜0.01) in a dose-dependent manner. ART not only significantly reduced the expression of MMP-9 and VEGF mRNA in CAL27 cells in a dose-dependent manner(P＜0.05), but also inhibited the protein expression of p-STAT3, MMP-9 and VEGF.

Conclusions: Artesunate can inhibit the proliferation, migration and invasion of CAL27 cells, which may exert antitumor effects by inhibiting the STAT3 signaling pathway.